


I'll watch over you

by writemind



Category: Malcolm in the Middle
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:15:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25917190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writemind/pseuds/writemind
Summary: Stanley comes back from the camp's two day outing trip early to look for Francis, who, not to Stanley's surprise, has managed to stay behind and do nothing.
Relationships: Francis/Stanley (Malcolm in the Middle)
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

I kicked my feet forward and wheeled the metal chair across the lobby. I'd been doing this all day, no one here to give me a command anyway.

The other guys were set up outside camping or something. Stanley said they were building up their survival skills and I couldn't care less about that crap. I was inside and had the whole place to myself. 

Funny, my conversation with mom had given me a brilliant idea and a way out of being in the woods all night. Stanley seemed to buy it too.

My arms were raised high now as I wheeled backwards into a set of cabinets. 

"Whoo hoo- oof" My backside ached briefly as the chair recklessly collided with the cabinets. 

I stood up and walked to the pantry door where I snatched a bag of stale chips before slamming my ass back into the chair. I leaned my head back and carelessly wheeled myself around again. 

My hand reached into the bag of chips but there were only crumbs now. I stretched out the bag and held it up to my mouth, waiting for the cheesy dust to shoot down. 

Man, in my entire life, I'd never finished a bag of chips on my own. I had three younger siblings who kept me slim. It was all that sharing food with them for fifteen plus years. I crunched the bag up into a ball and tossed it across the room, where the trash can was. It didn't make it in.

I could make a game of this I thought to myself. But the idea was cut very short when I heard a voice by the door.

"I figured you were faking it. Thought you had me fooled, huh?"

"Crap." I whispered. It was Stanley. 

He was still only wearing his underwear while the rest of him was covered with camouflage paint. 

"How'd you know I was faking it?" I asked, my arms stretched over my head. 

"I've known you long enough to know when you're faking, Francis." He stood straight with his arms behind his back. 

He had a few leaves stuffed behind his ears. Part of his outdoor costume I'm guessing. 

I stood up and made my way to him. His eyelids were low as he looked down at me. 

"So you have. But you're not gonna tell on me, right?" 

"No, but you are coming with me. That's why I'm here. It's important you learn to survive out there." he said sternly. 

"But is it really that important?" I asked, placing a hand under my chin. 

Stanley smiled briefly before answering.

" Yes. Now get your bag of essentials you packed earlier and let's go. Unless you'd like the commandant to learn you were lying about throwing out your back." 

"Well, in that case... fine!" I said, my hands falling to my side. 

My eyes quickly spotted the green bag I'd abandoned from across the room. I rolled my eyes at Stanley and spun on my heels to face the center of the lobby.

I leaned over one of the dipped couches and reluctantly reached for my bag. The bag slumped heavily over my shoulder. The thin strap cut badly too.

"Wait!" I walked to the pantry once more and emptied out a box of snack cakes before turning to Stanley. 

He stood at the doorway still. Smiling and shaking his head as he turned to face the hallway. He cleared his throat once then his face went serious. 

"Let's head out," he said, looking over his shoulder. 

That smile was rare I thought as I silently walked behind him. The paint on his back was smudged now and the back of his boxers was covered with specks of dirt and splintering wood. 

"Can't you feel that?" I asked.

"Feel what?"

I felt my face flush and held my bag's thin strap a little tighter now.

"Nothing."

We only walked a few feet from the building to an area with some tall trees. There were bark shavings and twigs all over the ground and they snapped quickly beneath my military boots. 

"We'll set up here. Figure we can head further out tomorrow morning." 

"Really, here? What's the point then? I'd rather sleep in there. In our room. In my bed." I said, my hands making sweeping gestures to the building.

"Listen, Francis, I know what I'm doing. I'm exposing you to nature lightly so you don't whine when we're really out there." 

"Now, if you take this trip away from me," he continued, "Let's just say I pretend to not see those guys who tease you."

"Whoa, man, I can't fend for myself against those animals! Remember, you're like my friend? " 

Stanley laughed now as he swung his bag over his head. He set the bag on the ground and cleared away some leaves with his foot. 

"Get some dry wood for fire. I'll set up some things while you're gone." 

"Fine! But that's all I'm doing out here, okay?" 

I walked uphill and found some fallen branches to lug around behind me. God, I can't believe this guy! Why the hell does he act like he's born to be a survivalist? Really, he cares too much about this stupid camping weekend.


	2. I'll watch over you Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After one night of camping, Francis finds himself taking care of Stanley for once and he couldn't be happier.

The pile of sticks fell through my arms as I made my way back to Stanley. No thanks or anything as I walked past him.

“Ugh,” I let out as I dropped myself to the ground. 

I wiped the sweat off my face and looked up at Stanley who’d apparently built a fire pit and set up my tent while I was gone. What else had he done? Hunted down rabbits for food? 

Seriously, I don’t know why I let him drag me out here. He’s doing just fine without me. 

I ran a hand through my sweaty hair as I looked at the back of his head. He was picking up the sticks I dropped when he suddenly turned to face me. Maybe it was his lack of appreciation that made me say what I said. 

“Jeez man, you’re clearly fine out here on your own so why drag me along? To see me suffer, is that it?” I asked, my voice tired. 

He shook his head then turned to face me. “You really don’t get it do you? I know you think that we’re only out here to be ‘tortured’ by the commandant but there are things worth learning out here.”

“Yeah, well, you’ve kind of taken that away! Don’t ya think? I mean, you’ve built the fuckin’ tent for me! Isn’t that something I should’ve done?” 

“Well, if I remember right, you were already complaining before we got out here, so I thought giving you a hand with this would make things easier.” He said, his voice still calm.

“Real nice of you, thanks, but I still don’t want to be out here, man!” I said, feeling a little embarrassed now.

“I think, Francis, that you like to make a big deal out of nothing. And that you like to get out of things by doing exactly that.” He said, a smile digging under the corner of his cheeks. 

“No, I do not, man!” I said, shaking my head. “Besides, if I did do that, which I never do, you wouldn’t react to it. You never react to anything and that’s a little odd, don’t you think?” 

“Look Francis, you’re not getting out of this one, okay? Now here, help me build the fire.” He said, pushing a log to my chest. 

Stanley turned away and walked over to the fire pit where he kneeled down and picked up two stones. 

“Here, mister I suddenly feel left out,” He held out the stones and waited for me to walk over. 

I raised my eyebrows and gave a small chuckle. Sarcasm was a reaction, right? I shuffled my feet through the leaves and kneeled down next to him. 

He handed me the rocks and said, “Now, look, you scrape them together till you see a spark. Make sure the spark catches on the bark or we won’t get nothing from it.”

I held the cold stones in one hand before pressing them together. The heavy smell of sulfur filled our lungs as I scraped the rocks together. 

The sun was going down now, and we both watched as these bright orange sparks came off the clashing rocks. It was sort of amazing.

“Stop,” Stanley said. 

He poked at the bark with his hunting knife looking for something.

“Is that it?” I asked, pointing down at a speck of red light. 

“Yep, that’s what we’re looking for.” He reached over for some dry grass.

With his hunting knife, he picked up the red spark and set it in the center of the grass. I looked over his shoulder as he blew air on the spark. Smoke began to come out and quickly the red spark expanded. 

I moved my head away as Stanley let go of the grass. We placed some logs over the burning grass and watched the flames grow taller.

I opened my eyes wide with amazement. “Wow, I- I did that!”

“Yes, you did, Francis. Good job.” He said, patting my shoulder. 

I felt my face flush again when I saw his wide smile. It was nice hearing that, especially from him. It was also nice having his hand on my shoulder. I felt funny for thinking that.

He stared at me for a while before asking, “Are you hungry?”

“Starving,” I said without hesitation. “Luckily, I’ve got these!” I pulled out the snack cakes from my bag and held them to Stanley’s face. 

“Yeah, well, I may have to go hunt for something more filling.”

“Oh, come on, you’re not gonna catch anything out there.”

“Is that a challenge?” He said, tilting his head.

“No, but you can go look if you want. I’m just saying, I was out there all-day getting wood for the fire and I didn’t see anything tasty. Or any animals really.” 

“C’mon, just take one, I won’t tell anyone that you didn’t live off the land.” I said, my hands over my chest.

“That’s sweet, Francis,” He said, looking down. “But I’m sure I’ll find something to eat.” 

“Okay, whatever you say. I’ll just be here then.” I opened one of the snack cakes and took a bite. I smiled big and gave a thumbs up. 

He smiled back and took off with his hunting knife. I laughed. I really couldn’t believe this guy. 

My heart felt like it was sprinting. Rapidly moving in my chest without warning. I looked at the clear wrapper in my hands and smiled. Gosh, I felt like such a dork. 

I thought it was simple admiration at first but turns out it was more than just that and I- I just knew that I really liked him.

I kept this to myself, of course. It’s just that Stanley comes off as super intense, and I can’t imagine telling him any of this, so I guess being friends is good enough. It’s great, really.

I took a deep breath and tossed the wrapper back into my bag, I took out another snack cake and started munching down on that too. 

I turned to face the tall trees and waited for Stanley to come back. 

After my fifth snack cake, I heard a rustling in the woods. It was Stanley and he came back empty handed. 

I raised my eyebrows and opened my mouth to say something but was cut off by Stanley. 

“Before you say anything, I ate on my way over here.”

“Did you eat it raw?” I asked curiously. 

“Sure did.” He said, sitting down next to me. His arm pressed against mine. I cleared my throat before asking, “So, dessert?” I held the snack cake to his face again.

Stanley looked down and laughed, his shoulders moving up and down as his laughter boomed from his chest.

I gave a long stare and smiled. I always loved seeing this side of Stanley. 

“Will you stop offering me that? I’m fine, really.” He said, wiping his eyes. 

“Okay, but this is the last one. I’d feel awfully bad if I ate all of the snack cakes on my own.” I said, leaning over his shoulder.

“Sure you would.” He said with a chuckle. 

“C’mon man, it’s only one. Here take it.” I really wasn’t convinced he’d found a single thing to eat out there. 

“Can’t, I’m stuffed,” He patted his stomach before saying, “Guess I’m ready to sleep then. You should get some rest too, it’s really late.” He gave a quick wave, stood up and went to go lie down by my tent. 

“Oh, and don’t worry about the fire. It’ll die down eventually, See?” He said, pointing to the much smaller flames. 

I was sort of in disbelief as I watched him smooth out a patch of dried leaves and comfortably rest his head on the ground. 

The leaves rustled beneath my feet and I caught myself staring at Stanley’s bare back before heading off to my tent.

It was a small green tent. Barely enough room for me to stretch out. It was really cold too. Luckily, I had my gray sweatshirt and a small blanket I’d thrown in my bag last minute. I threw the blanket over my feet and pulled my knees close to my chest. I was still freezing. 

I kept on thinking of Stanley and how he was basically naked out there in the freezing cold. I wondered what he’d think if I suggested he sleep in the tent with me. 

I let go of the thought quickly and rolled on my side. I let out a deep sigh and blankly stared at my army bag. Just thinking. 

My eyes grew heavy as I heard the wind rattle through the trees and soon, I fell asleep. 

I woke up to the sound of sniffling. I rubbed at my eyes and a long yawn escaped my lips. My shoulder ached as I sat up. How long had I been sleeping on it? I thought to myself.

“Oof,” I let out as I stretched my arms over my head. I held my arms out higher now and the backs of my hands hit the top of the tent. 

I heard the sniffling again and peered out of the tent to see if anything was wrong.

My eyes adjusted to the light quickly as I looked Stanley’s way. He was shivering in his sleep. I stumbled out of the tent and walked barefoot to his side.

“Hey man, hey, wake up!” I said, shaking his shoulders. 

He let out a sharp breath and coughed as the cold air entered his mouth. He tugged on my jacket and pulled me closer before saying, “You’re up before me? That can’t be good.”

“Yeah, man, you don’t look so good. Jeez, you’re, like, frozen.” 

The leaves around him were covered in frost and the rocks felt like tiny icicles beneath my feet.

“I didn’t expect the temperature to drop so low,” He said with a weak voice. 

“Here,” I stood up and held my hand out over his chest.

Stanley reached for my hand and I carefully pulled him up. His entire body slumped over my shoulders as we walked over the frozen ground. 

“Yeah, I’m taking you back to our dorm.” He didn’t protest and nodded his head against my shoulder. He looked so tired. 

When we made it back to the building, Stanley asked to be left alone as he walked to our dorm.

“Are you sure?” I asked. 

“I’m fine. I can make it there by myself.” I gently held on to his lower back as he started to stand on his own. I watched him press a hand to the wall as he struggled to walk down the hall. 

I scratched the back of my head and made my way to the lobby. I raided the cabinets and gathered some medicine and heated up a few towels before racing to the dorm. 

Stanley was halfway through the door when I wrapped my arms around him and helped him get to his bed.

He gave a sigh of relief as he felt the cushioned bed beneath him. He was still shivering as he started to cover his feet with the sheets. 

“Here, you really don’t need that on.” I said, pulling off the garland of leaves he’d strung around his waist.

I went to my bed and gathered all my blankets up and took them to Stanley. I made sure to cover him up and tucked the blankets around him without second guessing how personal this all was. 

“Here’s some water for the medicine.” I held two pills in one hand and a glass of water in the other. Stanley took the medicine without hesitation and drank down the entire glass of water. 

I got the hot folded towel from the desk and placed it over his forehead. I smiled as my hands tucked the towel down behind his ears. 

Our eyes met and I pulled my hands away immediately. He gave a small laugh and ended up coughing. 

My face must’ve looked very concerned because he started to laugh even more.

“What?” I asked, my heart racing again.

“Nothing, it’s just- this isn’t something friends normally do.” He said with a smile.

I scratched behind my head again and said, “Yeah, well, I consider you more than a friend so it- “Crap. Did I really just say that? I cleared my throat and walked away from the bed.

It was killing me that Stanley didn’t say anything. Was he thinking about what came out my mouth? My chest felt unsteady as I thought all these things to myself. 

I decided to adjust the thermostat and brought it up to 78 degrees. It felt like my entire body was on fire from embarrassment, but I still brought it up for Stanley’s sake. 

“Are you sure you can tamper with that?” I heard him say. 

“If we couldn’t, it wouldn’t be in our room. I mean, your room- my room. The room we share.” Man, I was turning into a mess really quickly. I rubbed my face in humiliation. 

“Hey Francis, do you mind sitting next to me.” He said, his voice slightly nervous.

I turned around on my heels and walked to the bed slowly. I sat down next to him but didn’t turn to face him. I was fidgeting with the sleeve of my jacket when I felt his hand reach out for mine. 

“Thank you, Francis.” He said, his voice genuine and sweet. “I- I’ve always seen you as more than a friend too and it’s so nice to know you feel the same.” Our eyes met again, and we smiled happily, both us baring a small sense of disbelief. 

“Sorry for dragging you along out there. I know it’s not something you really like to do.”

“Are you kidding me? I loved it. Most of it. Besides, who would’ve helped you get back to campus if I hadn’t gone.” He held my hand to his chest, and I felt the laughter bloom in there. 

His eyes were beaming now. “God, Francis, you don’t know for how long I’ve wanted to hold your hand.” 

My heart raced wildly when I heard him say that. “I’ve felt the same way too.”

“If I wasn’t so sick, I would kiss you.” 

“One kiss wouldn’t hurt.” I leaned over his chest and pressed our lips together. 

“Now get better, so I can kiss you some more.” I said happily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, here's the second chapter! I hope you you all like it!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, thanks for checking this out! I'm currently working on the second chapter.


End file.
